Grammy award winning, lyrical powerhouse Umar Bin Hassan talks about his books, politics, life, and more.

Of the socially conscious The Last Poets, New Jersey Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka once said, "The Last Poets are the prototype Rappers... the kina nigger you don never wanna meet!" For those too young to remember their 1970 BillBoard hit “This Is Madness,” then you may be more familiar with their BillBoard early 2005 hit with Common, “On the Corner.”

Umar joined the Last Poets in 1969 and continues to troubadour the world with them as well as performing spoken word. In mid-1993, he released his first solo album, Be Bop or Be Dead, produced by Bill Laswell. Hassan combined rap, house, and jazz elements on the record. He later went on to record To the Last which was also produced by Bill Laswell.

In early 1999, Umar performed spoken-work at the legendary Snaps-N-Taps in Columbus, Ohio and met Carl Zero, local area reggae promoter and owner of Roots Records. The two worked together with several musicians and released the Life is Good cd on Stay Focused Recordings. A second release from Umar and Leon Mobley, of Innocent Criminal fame, is due out any day on Stay Focused.